Prep Report: Red Knights rally late, top Tritons
The last time these two teams met was a meaningless preseason skirmish little more than a week ago. The memory of a 4-2 loss to the North Fort Myers Red Knights was still fresh in the minds of the Mariner Tritons.
The Tritons came out firing shot after shot and pressuring the defense. It led to two first-half goals by senior co-captain Amanda Seny, but the Red Knights rallied in the second half to upend the Tritons 3-2 Tuesday night at Tony McKenna Field.
Seny’s scoring icebreaker came in the first 11 minutes when she blasted a left-footed bullet from the left wing that whizzed past North keeper Brianna Abatisti. Freshman Megan Fritz was credited with an assist.
Seny gave the Tritons a 2-0 lead at the 26-minute mark, settling a crossing pass from freshman Liz Santiago at the 18-yard box and drilling a straight-on shot into the net. Abatisti did not have time to get a hand on either shot.
North coach Donna Agostinelli could hardly believe the Knights came back to win, as late as they did, after being down 2-0.
Tritons coach Beth Gedde was just as surprised, “We lost, and we shouldn’t have after having that lead.”
Goalkeeping this night, played in brief periods of light rain and a gusty breeze, was tenuous with the wet ball. Mariner keeper Samantha Greenwell finished with nine saves. Abatisti had 12 saves.
North trimmed the margin to 2-1 in the final minute of the first half when Allison Frost took a crossing pass from Ashley LaPierre and buried a shot at close range inside the left post.
LaPierre, a senior, dropped a direct kick from the top of the 18-yard box into the net to tie the game late in the second half.
After a few more exchanges – shots on goal were about even in favor of the Tritons 17-15 – North freshman Hannah Hamilton scored unassisted on a breakaway in the final two minutes to win it.
Both teams are back in action Thursday. Mariner (2-1) hosts Estero and North (2-1) hosts Fort Myers.
Fort Myers 10, Island Coast 0: Fort Myers reeled off 10 goals in 40 minutes to blank Island Coast (0-3), which goes looking for its first victory next Tuesday at LaBelle.
Boys Soccer
Cape Coral 2, Port Charlotte 0: The Seahawks tallied one goal in each half while goalkeeper Daniel Villamil made just four saves to record the shutout at Port Charlotte.
Sophomore Kayek Freire and senior Fabian Fajardo scored the goals.
The Seahawks (2-0) host Lemon Bay Thursday night.
Mariner 3, North Fort Myers 1: Facing a 1-0 halftime deficit, the Mariner Tritons turned it on in scoring all three goals in the last 30 minutes in a season-opening victory at North Fort Myers.
The Tritons had not shown much offense until that point, going back to their two preseason jamboree games.
“They were well-earned goals,” Mariner coach Martin Cardenas said. “The boys finished and that’s something we didn’t do in the jamborees.”
Freshman Isaiah Romano, junior Juan Rincon and senior Christian Marin all had one goal and one assist. Goalkeeper Matt Brust made four saves.
Junior midfielder Patrick Lewis also gave the Tritons a lift with his ability to control and distribute the ball.
The Tritons (1-0) play at Estero Thursday.
Fort Myers 8, Island Coast 0: Goalkeeper John Simpson made nine saves for Island Coast, but Fort Myers supplied all the offense en route to a shutout victory.
The Gators mustered one shot on goal. The Gators (0-2) host Cypress Lake Monday.
Bishop Verot 5, Barron Collier 0: Andrew Palumbo scored twice and Lucas Polk made four saves, leading the Vikings (1-0) to a shutout win over Barron Collier.
James Gibson, Michael Marzella and Matt Mathis each scored one goal for the Vikings. Austin Doyle accounted for three assists.
The Vikings play at Evangelical Christian Thursday.
Volleyball
Bishop Verot 3, DeSoto County 0: One would be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining high school volleyball match than last year’s five-set thriller between Bishop Verot and Tampa Berkeley Prep.
The rematch is 2 p.m. Saturday.
Verot (27-0) remained unbeaten Tuesday with a 25-19, 25-10, 25-18 victory in a Region 3-3A semifinal match at DeSoto County.
The Vikings are expected to meet up with powerhouse Berkeley Prep Saturday at Verot, with a berth in the state semifinals on the line.
“We’re looking forward to the rematch. It was quite a barnburner (last year),” Vikings coach Wynn DePasquale said.
The Vikings were 22-0 prior to last year’s meeting, but Berkeley Prep prevailed in a back-and-forth match, 15-25, 25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 15-12.
The Vikings, again, are undefeated. They received a strong challenge from DeSoto in games one and three, but controlled the second game.
“We brought the firepower we’re known for,” DePasquale said.
Senior defensive specialist Katie Mosher tallied 27 digs and four aces. Senior setter Ciara Brown dished out 32 assists, and junior Sarah Toggweiler belted 15 kills.
Sports writer Dave Devereux contributed to this report.
Volleyball
Regional Semifinals
Tuesday, Nov. 10
Region 3-2A
St. Pete Northside Christian def. Canterbury 25-18, 25-21, 25-22
Region 3-3A
Bishop Verot def. DeSoto County 25-19, 25-10, 25-18
Region 3-4A
Fort Myers def. Naples 27-25, 25-24, 25-16
Region 3-5A
Venice def. Gulf Coast 25-15m 25-20, 25-15
Regional Finals
Saturday, Nov. 14
Region 3-3A
Tampa Berkeley Prep at Bishop Verot, 2 p.m.
Region 3-4A
Fort Myers at Braden River, 7 p.m.
Region 3-5A
Clearwater at Venice, 7 p.m.
Boys Soccer
Tuesday, Nov. 10
Mariner 3, North Fort Myers 1
Cape Coral 2, Port Charlotte 0
Fort Myers 8, Island Coast 0
Bishop Verot 5, Barron Collier 0
Girls Soccer
Tuesday, Nov. 10
North Fort Myers 3, Mariner 2
Barron Collier 4, Bishop Verot 0
Fort Myers 10, Island Coast 0